A pregame message from Dawson Springs brought a smile to Calipari's face

The boys and girls basketball teams from Dawson Springs High School were special guests at a Kentucky Basketball practice earlier this week. They accepted the personal invitation from John Calipari during Calipari’s visit to Western Kentucky, and on Monday the Panthers crowded the sidelines of Kentucky’s practice facility for a VIP look at the Wildcats.

“They grabbed a bus and they wanted their team to feel good and have something to smile about,” Calipari explained, “so Coach brought them up to practice.”

Loved having the Dawson Springs High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams at practice today!!! pic.twitter.com/AFNyyHpOXi

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) December 27, 2021

Early Wednesday before Kentucky tipped off its SEC schedule, Dawson Springs returned the smile-making favor.

“You know what I got on my phone today?” Calipari told his postgame show listeners. “A message from the Dawson Springs basketball team and Coach Blue, wishing us luck… I hit him back and said, you tell them, not only did I appreciate it, they made me smile today. So that’s a great thing.”

Calipari may share the video he received, he said, but worries the NCAA will see it another way.

“I probably can’t because they’ll say you’re sending out stuff for 18-year-olds that are recruitable athletes,” he joked. “We’re just trying to keep people alive right now, keep people with smiles on their face.”

Back to the smile on Calipari’s face. He was taken aback by Dawson Springs’ video message considering everything going on in those young lives.

“Can you imagine?” he told postgame radio listeners. “And not to get all religious on you, but the most powerful prayers are that of a suffering man. Well, think about them wishing us luck. A couple of them lost their homes. I don’t even know if they have a gym to play in. I didn’t ask Coach.”

Fortunately, the Dawson Springs gym survived the tornado; although, it is now a base for local relief efforts, not a place for basketball. This time last week, the gym was used to distribute Christmas presents to everyone impacted in the community.

“Let’s not forget”

After telling the story of his message from Western Kentucky, Calipari urged postgame radio listeners to keep up the support.

“Let’s not forget,” he urged Big Blue Nation. “Not only keep them in our prayers but let’s not forget. Let’s make it; instead of decades, let’s make it the quickest turnaround of any natural disaster like that ever. Let’s stay on the government. Let’s stay on the federal government. Let’s stay on public and private where everybody gets together and we just stay on it to rebuild. We’re not talking a place that’s 400,000 people. We can do this and we can do it fast.

“Only by the grace of God, it didn’t hit in Lexington or where you are.”